IslamicFinance.de

Taqwaa Advisory and Shariah Investment Solutions (TASIS) has been appointed as Shariah Advisor for Tata Group Shariah Mutual Funds. They include Tata Ethical Fund (TEF), which is a domestic fund and Tata Indian Shariah Equity Fund (TISEF), which is an offshore fund. TASIS claimed that TEF was the only Shariah compliant fund in which charitable trusts are allowed to invest without attracting tax. Under the current agreement, TASIS is supposed to ensure that the investment and operations of TEF and TISEF are Shariah compliant. In India there is low awareness about investment in securities. The availability of options such as TEF would help this section of the society to become part of the mainstream financial system and hence contribute to the goal of financial inclusion.

Indian Islamic finance industry is still facing legal obstacles on allowing Sharia-compliant banking products in the country. Indian Muslim minority which is the largest in the word, nowadays cannot access Islamic financial services as the sector requires banking to be based on interest, which is forbidden in Islam. The issue of Islamic finance is being studied by the Reserve Bank of India since 2005.